The Oakland Raiders picked up Clemson cornerback Trayvon Mullen in the second round (40th pick overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft late last month, making Mullen one of three Clemson players they took in the draft.
Mullen was thrilled to be drafted by the Raiders and can envision himself in Oakland's defense.
“I was really happy when they called me, I was really excited,” Mullen said, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I told Coach Gruden that I could just see myself playing in that defense.”
The 21-year-old is coming off of a junior campaign in which he registered 36 tackles, a couple of sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and three passes defended, and at 6-foot-1 and about 200 pounds, he is a tough, physical corner.
“Coming here was big for me when I got drafted here just because of the tradition of this team and the defense, and the type of corners that they draft,” Mullen said. “They have had lot of elite, big corners and they play a lot of man coverage. That’s something that we did a lot at Clemson, so it fits me well.”
Going with bigger cornerbacks is becoming a trend in the NFL, and given the height of many wide receivers, you wonder why this strategy didn't catch on years ago.
Mullen says that he absolutely uses his frame to his advantage in coverage.
“I try to use my length and my body as an advantage,” Mullen said. “Try to play physical, strong, try to get my hands-on guys at the line, try to slow them down, keep my body in front of guys. Just be big and physical, especially at this level, you got a lot of great receivers so just got to be able to be physical, use your feet and hands.”
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